Google Introduces a New Mobile Ad to Combat Fat Fingers



The “fat finger effect” — the theory that people accidentally click on mobile ads because cellphone screens are so small — is one reason mobile ads generally earn less money than ads shown on desktop computers.
Google, one of the biggest sellers of mobile ads, on Thursday introduced a new way to fight back against fat fingers.

When people click on image ads sold by Google that appear in cellphone apps, Google will double-check that the person wants to visit the advertiser’s Web site before taking them there, by asking them to click again on a button labeled “visit site.”

When clicks are accidental, they usually happen near the outer edge of the ad, Google said, when a fat finger intended to scroll through the app instead. That is when Google will verify that someone meant to click on the ad. Google has already done this in text banner ads in apps.

Tech360magazine Correspondent